Facebook is once again looking to build its own smartphone. According to The New York Times, Facebook has hired more than a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone as well as one who worked on the iPad for its latest attempt. It is hoping to have a smartphone out sometime next year. According to one employee, “Mark is worried that if he doesn’t create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms.”
Rumours of Facebook building its own smartphone have been around for some time now. One source revealed that this is in fact Facebook’s third attempt. The first took place in 2010 but was halted due to the complexities involved. A second attempt is underway in partnership with HTC with a smartphone codenamed “Buffy” still in development. This new team will not only work on “Buffy” but also explore other smartphone projects.
Asked about the report, Facebook would not deny or confirm that any smartphone projects existed. It pointed to a statement made last year that said, “We’re working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers.”
Read more: The New York Times